


Any chance I can get

by baalsdungeon, Musta_aurinko



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:46:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22651222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baalsdungeon/pseuds/baalsdungeon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musta_aurinko/pseuds/Musta_aurinko
Summary: Hakuryuu lied to his family about being in a relationship, and now they want him to bring that person over for a visit on his birthday. Too bad this day is also Valentine's Day, and everyone he tries to ask to pretend to be his partner seem to have other plans. Finally, Hakuryuu has to settle for the one person he doesn't really want to have anything to do with.
Relationships: Jafar/Sinbad (Magi), Judal | Judar/Ren Hakuryuu
Comments: 12
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

Hakuryuu woke up a little later than usual and decided to skip his first class of the day in order to get his thoughts together. He needed a plan, and he needed it soon. 

It was already February first, and as he turned the page on his calendar, he realized it would only be two weeks until his birthday. Yes, it was exactly on the worst day possible, on Valentine's day.

Not only were people always busy and forgetting about him completely, this year it was even worse. His mother backed him into a corner, as usual telling him how he dared to get into such a low college instead of joining his family's company, and how he did not even have either a job or a girlfriend. Hakuryuu had finally gotten a job, so that matter was out of the list but with the girlfriend... It was simply too much, she continued this way for weeks on end, and he finally lied that he was in a relationship, just so his family would leave him alone. And they did.

But now, his cousin and sister insisted on meeting them, he should bring them to their party. On Valentine's day, how romantic! Hakuryuu hated it, he was never really popular with women, and he couldn't care less about such a day in general.

Hakuyruu wondered if he could ask one of his friends to pretend to be his girlfriend for this day, it was just a small favor, so why not? He had asked his classmate Morgiana out when he arrived at college in October, but she was already dating someone. Maybe she would help him out if Alibaba didn't mind.

\----

"Hakuryuu, I'm sorry. I would help you out here, but you see, I have a date," Morgiana explained, blushing slightly. "If the party would be on any other day, I would, but-"

"It's ok, I expected most people would be busy that day, but I really need someone. I can't tell them the truth, my family is complicated like that," Hakuryuu sighed. This wasn't going to be easy.

"I could ask Toto if you want! She's single and wants a date anyway, maybe you will get along just fine!" his friend suggested, thinking of every possibility. "I will see what I can do. Hey, you see Judar? He's watching us," she whispered, and Hakuryuu growled.

Judar was the most annoying person he could think of, he would make fun of Hakuryuu, just small jokes, but it was enough to make his blood boil. On his first day, he almost got him suspended, and since then, he would sneak around him whenever he could, eavesdropping on private conversations. "Get lost Judar!" he said, instead of pretending not to see him.

"Oh, but I heard something rather interesting. Do you need a date? I'm open," the other said, shrugging his shoulders. "As if I would ever ask you, I don't even want to breathe the same air as you," Hakuryuu was rather angry, Judar tried to mock him over his situation, that was clear to him.

The black-haired boy took a bite from his peach, looking at Morgiana, who watched the situation, then at Hakuryuu. "Hmm, if you say so. Offer still stands, try to find better than me." He walked out of their sight, taking the direction towards the entrance of the building, while classes had just started a few hours ago. Hakuryuu wondered why he always left this early, but he was probably just too lazy to attend the lessons. It didn't matter now.

"Of course he would be free that day, who would date this guy anyway?" Hakuryuu muttered under his breath. Judar was, in fact, pretty popular among most people, and even if Hakuryuu didn't want to admit it, he looked very good. If only it wasn't for his rude attitude, Hakuryuu could certainly see himself falling for someone as charming as him, but- wait! This wasn't what he should be thinking about just now. He needed an actual date!

A week later the situation didn't look any better. Hakuryuu had asked almost every one of his friends, and even Toto had started dating one of Alibaba's friends, Olba, and they would go out on Valentine's day. Of course, they would.

Today, his cousin Kouha would come over, and he knew this wasn't good at all. The Ren family was well known here, they were the richest in their city, due to their companies' huge success. It was hard fighting against the prejudice of being arrogant and such at first, but Hakuryuu made his friends accept him. As for Kouha, he didn't know.

"Ah Hakuryuu," he said, as he entered his dorm apartment. "Are you alone? Where’s your girlfriend? Or is it a boy? Come on, tell me! Yuu won't tell me anything~" Kouha was such a drama queen. "You’ll see them soon enough, don't worry," Hakuryuu said, a little annoyed. He didn't like that conversation at all.

"Hm fine. Sorry I'm excited over your first relationship, but I have to warn you, your mother isn't happy about it!" He grinned. "Of course she isn't. My mother hates muggles," Hakuryuu said, totally serious. Her standards for everything were out of touch with reality, and that was also a reason Hakuryuu couldn't find a date. Nothing would be good enough.

It wasn't worrying over her child, he knew that. She simply wanted to control his life, that he would work at the company, marry a rich woman, and most certainly, live under her influence. He wasn't going to let that happen. If anything, going to a college she hated and wanting to become a teacher was the best decision he could have made to escape her grip.

"Yeah, better come alone, she will destroy whomever you will bring," Kouha laughed, amused at the thought. "Maybe I should bring Judar then," Hakuryuu mused. Was his offer still standing? He didn't have anyone left to ask.

Kouha looked around the room. "It's so small here, do you live alone?"

"No, a friend of mine lives here too. Didn't you meet Alibaba before?" Hakuryuu was glad the topic changed, and he wanted to have a nice afternoon with his cousin.

\----

Judar was playing on his Playstation 4 for a few hours, he wore black pajama pants but didn't care for a shirt now. He worked all week, one day of laziness wouldn't hurt. "Judar! How about you tidy up for once? If someone sees this," his roommate complained, trying to clean up as fast as he could.

"If SINBAD sees this, you can tell him to worry about his own problems and fuck off. We aren't allowed to bring visitors over, remember?" Judar said, not looking up from his TV. "First, he's my boyfriend, and second, we are gonna study. That is allowed," Ja’far scoffed, finally done with everything.

"Yeah as if," Judar grinned, as the doorbell rang. He laughed as Ja’far went for the door at the speed of lightning, ready to greet his boyfriend. "Oh. Judar, it's for you," he said, a bit disappointed.

The other looked at the door, it was Hakuryuu. Shit! He got up, trying to find something better to wear. It was too late, the other had already entered his room, raising a brow as he looked at the mess in his room. "Uhm, sorry to...disturb you?"

Judar took a seat at his desk, motioning Hakuryuu to close the door. "Hm, you don't bother me. What do you want?" he asked, but he already knew. "Are you still offering to come with me?" Hakuryuu tried avoiding his gaze, looking around his room. He had never been here, despite them being in the same college for a little more than four months.

And despite the slight chaos in front of his TV, it was quite nice. Judar had his room almost entirely in black, but there were lots of study books all over the place, and Hakuryuu wondered how that fit his inner image of the lazy pretty boy who never studies. Speaking of handsome, Judar was almost naked, and it made him uncomfortable. He took a shirt from the bed and threw it at him.

"Here, you look like you need one," he said, blushing. "Don't you like it? I'm your boyfriend now, remember? That won't convince your family." Judar did as he was told, and threw the T-shirt on. It was a working attire. Did he have a job?! Apparently, there were many things Hakuryuu didn't know about Judar.

"Oh! So, you agree? Listen," Hakuryuu straightened his voice, "here’s a list of things that I like, just in case my family asks you anything. I won't tolerate you making any sexual jokes about our 'relationship' or behave in any rude ways, do you understand? You just have to be there and be nice, and if you agree, I will give you a worthwhile payment."

Judar laughed. "You won't need to give me anything, we both know you are broke as fuck since your family excluded you out of their payment plan, don't waste it on me. I'm just there to have some fun, you know? And do you need such a list from me too?" He looked at the paper in front of him. 'Favorite music', the day they met, a first date. It was all written down, and none of it was true.

"No need for this, I know everything that I need to know about you," Hakuryuu said, wanting to leave already. "Hm, yeah? I don't think so. First date at a theme park? Not gonna happen, I'm afraid of heights," Judar mused "our relationship is ridiculous. Where did you get that from? The Twilight novels?"

"What about it, it at least sounds realistic. Our second date is at a café, that's good enough, right?" Hakuryuu was strangely offended by Judar laughing at his fake dating ideas. "Hm yes, that's also pretty boring. I like karaoke! Have you done that before?"

Hakuryuu shook his head as a no, and Judar scratched everything down from his list. "Yeah, we went to a karaoke bar on our first date, I can sing pretty good, you know? And then a week later I showed you that lake behind the campus, and then we studied together for the math exam you had in November. That's when we officially started dating," he wrote down everything, and Hakuryuu wondered how Judar knew about his exam plan. In November, he almost wanted to drop out of school, it was all too much at once, and he was far behind in his schedule, as a result of joining in late in the semester.

He looked at Judar's list. "Sounds good. It would have been nice to actually do any of this," he said without thinking. "I'm free today," Judar said, looking expectantly at him. Hakuryuu was unsure. He had sworn himself to not ever talk to the other again, the memories of their first encounter still on his mind. He stood up. "I shouldn't, I’m- I’ll pick you up next Friday, wear something nice," he said, quickly leaving the room. Why couldn't he accept Judar's offer?

\----

"Happy birthday Hakuryuu," Hakuei said over the phone. "We are all so happy to see you again today, it's been so long! You never visit!"

"I'm sorry, it has been so busy lately, I barely had any time. I'll be over in an hour," he said, trying to find an outfit for the day. He didn't want to appear like the broke college student he was, but still look casual. This was harder than expected. Alibaba tried to help, but whoever would go on a date with his girlfriend wearing Star Wars boxers was a lost cause, Hakuryuu figured. 

"Are you still gonna bring your date? Judar, right?" his sister asked, and Alibaba almost choked on his water. "You asked Judar?!" he whispered, shocked. Hakuei didn't hear it, to his luck. "Yes, he's...nice. You will like him, don't worry. See you later." As soon as he hung up Alibaba screamed in disbelief "You asked Judar? Out of everyone, why him? 'YOU WILL LIKE HIM??' Y O U DON’T EVEN LIKE HIM!"

Hakuryuu threw his hands up in defeat. "See why I didn't tell you? I couldn't ask anyone else, I asked Pisti, and even SHE has a date today, its Valentine's day."  
"Hm but still,..." Alibaba didn't have any more time to complain, Hakuryuu was late, he needed to get Judar soon enough, or they would be late. "I'll survive a night with him, don't worry. Have fun on your date," he said and ran into the hallway.

\----

Judar was throwing his whole wardrobe around, desperately searching for something good to wear. "Fuck, I don't have ANYTHING!" he screamed in frustration, and Sinbad watched from afar, he was waiting for Ja’far to get ready. "Stop staring and help me. This or...this?" He held up two tops, who looked almost identical. "Isn't this a fake date you're having? Why are you trying to look nice?" Sinbad asked. "The right one is better."

"None of your business," Judar bickered and tried the other one. This didn't look too bad. Ja’far joined them, raising a brow. "If you want to look desperate, then this is it," he said "Also don't get your hopes up with Hakuryuu, he asked everyone before he asked you. You will just be disappointed."

"Shut up, Freckles, you don't know anything!" the other said, and Sinbad didn't understand was going on. Did Judar like that guy? Hakuryuu didn't seem to be interested in him at all. In fact, he was really surprised as Ja’far told him they were going out together.

"No, YOU don't. I know you, but maybe you had your chance and it's too late now. Hakuryuu asked even me, and he told me he didn't want to have to ask you. I'm sorry but this is the truth, you shouldn't go there." Ja’far tried to be the voice of reason, but it made Judar extremely angry. "Leave me alone, you damn idiot! Go suck someone's dick, if that's the only way to shut you up!" Ja’far rolled his eyes, but took Sinbad with him and left. If Judar wasn't gonna listen, he would see for himself. He didn't want that to happen.

\----

When Hakuryuu reached his apartment, Judar was already waiting outside his door. He wore black jeans and a white top, along with a white scarf. Hakuryuu had almost the same outfit. They looked so well matched together now, it was almost impossible.

"Hey there," Judar said, happily walking down the hallway towards him. Was he really that excited over such an event? Most certainly not. "Judar, we're late. Here," he said, pressing a small box into his hands. "Hm, what's that?" Judar looked dumbfounded, staring at it. "It's chocolate. It would be weird if I wouldn't get you something, right?" Hakuryuu explained, and the other nodded.

"It’s also- See it as a thank you for doing this, if you don't want to accept any money. I made them myself, but I don't know what you like, and Ja’far didn't know either. Don't worry about not having a present today, my family won't notice."

Judar blinked and opened the box. Did Hakuryuu ask his roommate about what chocolate he liked? But Ja’far said…-

"Come on, we are late!"

\----

As soon as they arrived at the Ren family's mansion, they were greeted by one of Hakuryuu's siblings, who eagerly captured him into a hug! "Happy birthday, Ryuuuu! We have prepared the best party ever!! Oh, is this your boyfriend?" He looked Judar up and down, and the other stared back. "Your brother looks like a clone of you," Judar commented, and Hakuren laughed. "Don't try to date me instead, I'm happy my brother finally has a relationship now."

"Wasn’t trying to," Judar said. "Hakuryuu didn't tell me exactly much about his family yet, but he's just so busy with studying." Busy with ignoring him would be the better term, but this was a good enough lie. "Where are the others?" Hakuryuu asked.

Another one of his brothers stood in the doorway, along with his cousin Kouen. Hakuryuu had insisted on not inviting him, but all of the others wanted to, as he was a part of the family. He was also now head of the Ren family's company, and while his siblings and cousins supported his decision of studying and not become part of the company, Kouen stood on his mother's side. 

It was almost a miracle that none of them complained about him dating a man, but that was quite common in his family, so none of them minded. Kouha whistled, as he saw them. "Wow, nice catch, Ryuu! No wonder you wanted to hide him away. But with your looks, it seems like he has invited you to join his emo band!" Judar laughed at this, and they high-fived. Seems like they would get along pretty well, Hakuryuu thought.

Hakuei seemed happy to see Judar, who nodded at her. "Do you know my sister already?" Hakuryuu asked, but Judar simply shrugged. He was glad the family was nice, at least from what he had seen now. They were pretty happy to see Hakuryuu, and gave him lots of presents. 

But as soon as dinner was served, all attention fell on Judar. “What subjects are you studying?” “When did you meet Hakuryuu?” “What do you like about him?” They were questioning all at once, and Hakuryuu wanted to ask to let it go for now, of course they were curious, but he felt kind of bad for Judar, who had to think of all the answers.

Well, in actuality, these didn’t seem to be difficult questions for Judar at all, as he answered them quickly with no problem. “I study art”, “We met at school actually, quickly after he had joined”, “Well Hakuryuu is very handsome of course, and so determined”. Maybe it made Hakuryuu feel a bit uncomfortable that Judar was listing his made up “positive qualities” with such ease but well, they were there to make a convincing act of being boyfriends. And Judar seemed to be a good actor.

For a moment Hakuryuu thought that the night could end well, but this wasn’t of course the case. Some of his family eventually start asking questions about Hakuryuu’s school.

“You know your mom hates it, right?” Kouha asks, quite casually. Hakuryuu tenses up, and Judar notices it. “Well, I am not interested in her opinion”, Hakuryuu forces out.

“You know you can always ask us for any help, Hakuryuu”, Hakuei said, and the conversation took a nice turn to somewhere where Hakuryuu definitely did _not_ want it to go. Taking any monetary help from anyone would be like admitting defeat to his mother. “Thanks, but I’m doing just fine”, Hakuryuu lied, trying to put on his best confident expression.

“But I’ve heard that a student’s life isn’t so easy”, Hakuren added with good intentions. Judar _tsk_ ed at this. “Didn’t you hear what he said? No need to push your shit on other people.” Judar tone wasn’t of someone who cared what other people thought of him or what was appropriate. Hakuryuu was, however, looking at him with an unreadable expression.

“In any case”, Hakuyuu interjected in an attempt to change the subject, asking from Hakuryuu, “how _are_ your studies going?”

“Well enough. It was a bit stressful around November, but I think we’re past that”, Hakuryuu answered honestly, not feeling like lying to his brother. After all, he had survived through that difficult period. “Why didn’t you say if you had a hard time?” Hakuei asked with worry, but Hakuryuu waved it off. “It’s not that big of a deal and- actually!” he suddenly thought of a way to change the topic, “that’s around the time when me and Judar started dating.”

Looks of realization, and nodding surrounded the fake couple. “That’s when you…” Hakuryuu looked at Judar and moved his hand in an attempt to get Judar to continue the sentence. Why couldn’t they just have stuck to his theme park idea? Because Judar was afraid of heights? Hakuryuu’s family didn’t know that!

“I took you to the lake behind the campus”, Judar helpfully finished the sentence, and Hakuryuu nodded in confirmation. “That’s way more of a sappy romantic thing than I expected from you”, Kouha commented, but Hakuei shushed him. “I think it’s sweet!”

“If you have a more lax schedule this spring, you should join us on our spring holiday”, Koumei invited, but Hakuryuu had to deny this offer. “I can’t skip work.”

“Work? Surely you could”, Kouha said casually.

“What is it with you rich bastards”, Judar laughed. “Do you even live in this world? You’re so clueless.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kouha got defensive, and surprised at Judar’s comment. “I mean that some people have to work to survive and can’t just skip it for fun”, Judar stated the obvious. “He’s not that desperate! And we can cover the costs anyways”, Kouha continued, but Judar rolled his eyes. “You really don’t get it do you? There’s something about earning your own money instead of being dependent on someone else.”

“You don’t look like a hard-working type”, Koumei came to defend Kouha. “I don’t want to hear that from _you_ , Shaggy”, Judar shot back. “Now, now, now”, Hakuei tried to step in and calm the situation. “Don’t interrupt, woman”, Judar, now annoyed, said at Hakuei with a glare.

Then there was a sound of someone hitting the table so hard the plates and cutlery on it clinked. “If you can’t behave, you can get out”, Hakuryuu said to Judar darkly with an angry expression. Any impression of a happy couple was gone. Judar looked back at Hakuryuu, but in addition to anger, there was also disappointment in his eyes.

“Kouha and Koumei are right”, said Kouen, who hadn’t really commented much during the entire time. He was aware of Hakuryuu’s dislike of him, after all. Everyone in the room turned their eyes to him. “It is your own stubbornness that is causing this. There is no work that would have to be done or compromises to be made if you simply made the logical choice.” Hakuryuu was still mad, but now it was targeted at Kouen instead. He knew exactly what Kouen was referring to. “Are you on _Gyokuen’s_ side on this?” Hakuryuu asked, but there is only one answer he expected to hear, the only possible one.

“ _You mother_ ”, Kouen emphasized, “does have a point. Hakutoku did a remarkable job, and it’s only respectful towards him if we continue his work in the company. As his son, you should be a part of it as well.”

“I have the right to make my own decisions in life”, Hakuryuu defended himself, but the atmosphere in the room was stifling. No-one wanted to step in, and no-one wanted to--

“Have you seen that witch?” Judar angrily turned to Kouen as well. “Who the hell speaks to their child like that? I might be low class scum to you but holy shit, emotionally manipulating your children into becoming dependent on you for the sake of their “own good” is fucked up no matter what level you’re looking at it from!”

Hakuryuu looked at Judar with a surprised expression. He had no idea how Judar even knew of any of this, but he reached out to him a bit with his hand. “Judar…”

“No, I really am going to get out here”, Judar says as he walks out of the door. “I can’t stand these weirdos one more second.” Hakuryuu ran after him, leaving everyone else behind to wonder what had just happened. Hakuryuu caught up to Judar in the front yard and grabbed his hand, stopping Judar and turning him to face him. Judar pulled his hand back swiftly and a bit aggressively, holding it to his chest as if Hakuryuu’s touch had burned him. Judar’s expression was pained, and it seemed like something was about to burst out of him any second.

“What did you mean by that?” Hakuryuu asked before Judar could run away again. “Why would you-?” Hakuryuu gestured back at the house with his hand. “What does this all mean?” Judar’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah, whatever. Might as well just tell it now since this is clearly never going anywhere”, his tone was angry, disappointed and tired. Hakuryuu had a confused look on his face.

“I like you”, Judar simply stated, and Hakuryuu didn’t look any less confused. “I regret our first meeting and I’ve been trying to make amends God knows how many times but you never agree to listen to me or even be in my presence”, Judar was bitter, “and I am tired of you never giving me a second chance. This whole charade”, he gestured around himself, “really was my final option in maybe forming some connection with you. And maybe then my crush wouldn’t be… whatever.” Judar shrugged and turned to leave again. “Have a fun rest of the night.”

Hakuryuu didn’t follow after him anymore, way too shocked by the information he had just received. After their… unfortunate first encounter, Hakuryuu had been angry at Judar, and had assumed that the other didn’t like him either. And that any encounters they had, Judar was just trying to find a way to bully him. But now that he thought back, Judar hadn’t seemed particularly threatening most of the time he had attempted to get Hakuryuu to talk with him.

Hakuryuu didn’t feel like going back indoors, the fresh night air keeping him cool and his thoughts somewhat in order. Those were interrupted when Hakuei suddenly came to him, holding some kind of box in her hands.

“Did Judar leave already? Listen Hakuryuu, I’m sorry about Kouen, most of us- we agree with you, you should know that,” she explained. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry for causing so much trouble for everyone,” Hakuryuu said, suddenly feeling very tired. “Judar and I….we weren’t actually dating. I don’t know what to think about him after all of this, and why he even agreed on coming here. He said he likes me…”

“I know he does,” Hakuei gave the box to her brother, who didn’t know what to do with it. “Judar told me not to tell you, but he gave this to me a few weeks ago. He said I should say it was from me, and when he defended you earlier, I already knew what was going on.”

“From Judar?” Hakuryuu asked, more to himself, as Hakuei left him alone, and he was thankful for that. He needed time to think, it all made no sense. He had asked Judar out only a few days ago, and by that time, said one had already given his sister a present, but Hakuyruu shouldn’t know about that? So did Judar really have a crush on him?

Carefully, he opened the box, it was small, and carefully packaged. As he saw what was inside, he almost wanted to cry. It couldn’t be- how could Judar get that? He had told his friends about this, and Judar sat beside him, but on that day, he was so mean towards him! Even when Judar asked what was wrong, he would tell him off. And after all of this, Judar got this for him!! That was two months ago…! Did he, since then…?

As fast as he could, he grabbed his phone, calling a number from his contact list. Hopefully, Ja’far wasn’t too busy to answer his questions.


	2. Chapter 2

Judar was sitting at lunch with a few of his friends. He wasn't in a good mood today, his roommate Ja’far threw him out yesterday so that he could have the apartment to himself. That meant Sinbad would be over, his new boyfriend. They could meet anywhere else, but no, it had to be HIS apartment, and Judar was apparently too annoying to stay. "Have you heard the news?" Cassim asked. "One of the Rens will be studying here."

"Who?" Judar wasn't interested in the topic, and he didn't know that family. "They are crazy rich! My dad lost his job because their company bought the factory he worked in. Those are such arrogant people, I can't believe they are allowed here! Most of them get homeschooled anyway."

Judar grinned. "Let's teach them a lesson then! I wonder if he can fight any good!"

"Pfft, don't try anything. You will just end up in detention, or get suspended. People like him can only run to their parents and cry, but you will lose no matter what." Cassim knew Judar liked challenges, but he had never been in a fight before. And other than him, his classmate didn't have a reason to hate the Ren family. 

Two days later, there was a mass of people surrounding Judar, and Cassim tried to push through the crowd to see what was happening. There on the floor was a boy, he had a scar on his face, and dark blue hair. It was the new student, Hakuryuu. Judar was screaming at him. “You better watch out where you’re going next time! Don’t think I’ll be any nice to you because of your name, it means nothing here! But I bet you can’t do anything without your family, that’s how pathetic you are!” Hakuryuu got up, dusting his clothes “How dare you! I apologized to you, right? What more do you want?!” 

Judar was just so arrogant, it made Hakuryuu’s blood boil with rage. He was trying to provoke him into a fight, and it worked. "I don't want any of your lame apologies, you broke my damn phone, and I'll make you pay for it!" Nobody interfered during their argument, even though many people had gathered around them. Tsk, did they all just plan on watching this guy bully him for no reason?

"I'm not interested in a fight with you," Hakuryuu said. He wanted to leave the scene, there was no way this guy would behave civilized even if he tried to. "Ah, look who wants to run away? Are you gonna tell your mother how mean I was today? I bet you will cry later about-" Judar had no time to react, Hakuryuu had turned around suddenly, punching him directly in the face. He didn't know why, he was just so angry!

"You know what I will do?! If you ever talk like that about me again, I won't hesitate to break way more than your stupid phone. Don't you ever talk to me at all!" he shouted, Judar looked surprised, holding his face. That must have hurt.

Two teachers arrived, one of the students had informed them over what was going on, and one of them immediately took a hold of Hakuryuu. "What do you think you're doing here? I wouldn't have expected anything like this from you. If you do that one more time, I'll get you suspended immediately. And I will have to inform your parents about it."

Hakuryuu looked defeated, now glaring at Judar once more. "This is your fault," he breathed, and the other smiled in victory. He'd get detention, he was sure of that. But at least the snobby new guy would get punishment. Or better, get suspended.

He was right about the detention. He had sit in the classroom all day, it was fucking boring. He wondered what Hakuryuu was doing right now. That punch sure was a surprise, he had expected the other to run away and cry, due to being mocked in front of nearly the entire campus, and for no reason at all. Sure, he had broken Judar’s phone, but it was clearly an accident. In fact, Judar was just so angry about how confident he was, how he wouldn’t back down. Couldn’t he just behave like the idiot Judar had expected him to be?

When he finally got released from his prison cell they called a classroom, he made his way back to his apartment. Ja’far would laugh at seeing his bandaged cheek, saying it served him right. It probably did.

Then he spotted Hakuryuu outside the school, waiting for someone. Had he been in the principal’s office for so long? Judar was almost tempted to ask about it, but that wasn’t a good idea, remembering the new student had told him earlier to never talk to him again. Hm, as if Judar would listen to that, or any rule for that matter. Hakuryuu was fun, he decided. So he wouldn’t let that go easily. 

As he came closer, another person arrived, it was a woman. She looked awfully lot like Hakuryuu, and Judar mused that must be his mother. Was she here to pick him up? Such a small punch wouldn’t get him suspended, right? Judar was curious, so he tried to hide behind a bench nearby, and listen. He wanted to at least know if this guy would badmouth him in front of his family.

“Ohh Hakuryuu! Are you alright dear? The principal told me what happened, you must feel so ashamed!" Gyokuen patted his head as one would do to a small child or a dog that was hurt. He grabbed her hand and put it away from his head, shrugging. "It’s nothing," he said, looking away. "Just some rude kid that doesn't know manners. I won't talk to him again."

His mother tilted her head, eyebrows raising "Oh, but are you sure?"

"Yes, I am. It was an unfortunate situation I-"

"No I mean about being HERE", her tone changed drastically, spatting the last word out like it was poison she had swallowed. "This isn't a place for you. Your father did everything to establish a company, all you have to do is become a part of it, and you wouldn't have to surround yourself with low people anymore! Look at your brother, he's such a SUCCESSFUL businessman! I'm so proud of him!"

Hakuryuu balled his hand into a fist. "I don't care what great future would lie ahead of me, I want to choose my own life. I won't let you decide for me."

“Oh my, don't you have a serious look on your face now? Don't worry, I’ll let you do as you please. But don't think I will support you with this crazy idea. Please understand," she said, an overstrained worry in her tone, "that all I want for you is a great future? So I hope you will make up your mind."

"I won't, and I won't ask you for money either-", again she didn't let him finish. "Oh, I know you won't. But don't you dare run to Hakuren if you need any help! I know he helped you out with your apartment when you got here! Do you think I don't know? My dear, let me tell you something," she stepped forward, forcefully grabbing Hakuryuu's arm, squeezing it so hard Judar assumed it must hurt a lot. Hakuryuu didn't flinch.

"You're so pathetic! You pretend you don't need anyone, and yet you rely on others for everything! You can do nothing without your family, we both know it. If you still want to do this, at least try to not disappoint us more than you already have." 

Hakuryuu looked down wordlessly. "Why the fuck doesn't he say anything?" Judar thought. He should get up and teach that bitch a lesson. Earlier, he could defend himself pretty fine when- Now it occured to Judar. He had used almost the exact same words earlier "you can't do anything without your family". He wasn't any better than that woman. He was even worse because he thought being rich made his life automatically easy.

When Hakuryuu's mother left, he still didn't move. Judar wanted to get up and say something but he would have to apologize and admit he listened to an obviously private conversation. Damn, he had never apologized for anything before. And why should he feel sorry now, just because his mother was rude as fuck, he COULD join the company and be rich and successful if he wanted to, right?

As he was about to leave, he saw Hakuryuu crouching down on the floor. He was crying. Was he this hurt by her? Had he been hurt by Judar's words too? He had looked so confident before, like nothing could touch him. It had made him almost angry.

Judar shouldn't be here. If Hakuryuu saw him now, he would never forgive him. Being vulnerable was something he obviously wanted to hide, and to cry in front of his bully was probably the worst situation right now. Not to mention: would he even be crying if it wasn't for Judar? The principal called his mother because of him. And this meant Hakuryuu was crying because of him.

This was wrong. He needed to fix this, soon. He just needed a good chance to do it.

Judar spent the next few weeks trying to find the best opportunity to approach Hakuryuu and talk to him normally. He figured the other would soon realize that Judar had simply been in a bad mood that day, and eventually forget about it. But he was wrong.

Hakuryuu was constantly surrounded by a group of friends, and whenever he saw Judar, he would send him an evil glance and either walk away or ignore him.

He soon began to wonder why he cared so much about it, Hakuryuu had friends, his grades were good, and he was away from that bitch of a mother. He didn't need to clear his name, right?

But this wasn't all. He was interested in Hakuryuu. Not just curious, but actually interested. He thought about him all day, how he prepared self-made chocolate and a letter for that girl he tried to get to date him, and how he would be sleeping in the library every so often, a messy bun on his head and the glasses he wore while reading. He looked so good with them!

Judar didn't deny the fact he had a crush on the one person that hated him to no end, and he couldn't do anything about it.

Hakuryuu sat down at one of the only free tables, lunch in hand. He sighed heavily, catching Judar's attention, who stood nearby. "Hey Ryuu, mind if I sit down here?" he asked but didn't wait for the other's approval, already taking the spot next to him. "Do you want some sandwiches? Ja’far made them, he's like the typical mom who makes disgusting food and I have to eat it. Ugh."

"Get lost Judar," Hakuryuu said, ignoring him again. He couldn't fight Judar calling him 'Ryuu' but the worst thing was he really thought he could talk to him whenever he wanted, as if they were friends or something. "You're in such a bad mood lately, what’s up?" Judar tried again, but Alibaba appeared, with Aladdin in tow, as usual. "Can't you see he doesn't want to talk to you? Just leave him alone, will you?" the blonde asked, sitting opposite of them.

"Whatever you say, dumbass," Judar huffed and began eating his own lunch. It wasn't that bad, he had made it for Hakuryuu, but why did he even try? He would have left the table by now, but there was no free spot left. That was most likely the reason he wasn't sent away yet, but it didn't stop the group from completely ignoring him.

"So," Alibaba asked "What's up? Something bothering you?"

"No, not really. It's just- I've been here for weeks and people still assume I can easily afford anything, but even with my current job, I can barely manage." Hakuryuu didn't want to cry over his situation, because both of his friends had the same problems to face.

"Hm, I understand. But we can help you!" Aladdin suggested. "Thank you, but I can’t accept anything. I-I had to sell the watch I got from my father. I don't need such an expensive thing, but he gave it to me as my graduation gift from high school, and it means a lot. If I hadn't sold it, I would have had to go back home, and that would be worse than losing it. So yeah-" 

"What? You can’t do that! Can you buy it back? How much is it?" Alibaba asked, searching for his wallet.

"I got 900 Dollars for it, there's no way I can afford to buy it back in time. And don't even think about it, Alibaba. Your mother saved up for years so she could send you here!" "Hm yeah, you're right. It's still unfair tho! You already work for being here!" Alibaba protested. 

Judar pretended to listen to the conversation on the neighboring table, munching on a peach and thinking about this. If he could get his hold on that watch, if he could give it back to Hakuryuu, he would be his knight in shining armor. He could see the other with wet eyes, hugging him "Ohh Judar, thank you so much! How could I think you were a bad person? Go on a date with meee!"

He smiled at his extravagant version of the possible future events. Even if Hakuryuu wouldn't cry from happiness, he would still get his possession back, and as bad as admitting it was, Dumbaba was right, this was unfair for him. But he couldn't afford that! How was anyone gonna have 900 Dollars?! He would have to work twice as much as he did now...could he- could he do that?

Well, he could certainly try!

There were only two shops nearby that Hakuryuu could have sold his watch to, and he made his way up into town to ask if such an item had recently been given to them. Soon enough, he found it. "I wanna buy it, but I have no money," he simply said and asked how long he would have to work there to pay it off.

Two months. Two fucking months! Judar hated retail work, and mostly he hated the customers. 'Hello, I would like to buy this item and I have two coupons over 50 percent, so now I get it for free ahaha' he mimicked a woman who had just left, after his shift had ended. Damn, if only Hakuryuu wasn't so handsome he would have quit after the first four hours. Not to mention, once his shift was over, he would drive to his next job. He needed to afford studying, after all.

Ja’far noticed his increasing absence and questioned him a lot about it. "I was napping somewhere", "Leave me alone, Freckles!" or "Be happy you have the apartment to yourself so much!" were his usual answers, but Ja’far wasn't dumb. He soon found out about Judar's second job. "Why would you do that? You barely have time on one job alone," he tried to lecture him, but it was all in vain. 

"It's for a present. I need money!" Judar finally admitted, and his roommate immediately knew why he did that now. He was in love with that boy from the other class, he talked non-stop about him even when he didn't notice it. And he was nice to him, genuinely nice. It was ironic to see, everyone was annoyed with Judar behaving rude towards them, and the only person Judar was nice to, didn't care at all. Of course, Ja’far had heard about their first encounter, everyone had. But Judar seriously tried, and he felt bad for him. He also felt bad for having Sinbad over so often, while the other had a clear unrequited crush on someone. But what could he do?

At the end of January, Judar could finally take the watch home. He quit the job as soon as he could, and finally he would have a bit more time for himself. 

Truth to be told, he had given up on the Other quite some time ago. He knew Hakuryuu would never like him the way he did, he would never be interested in him in any way, and some damn expensive watch wasn't gonna change anything!

He decided to give it to him nonetheless, even as his heart ached as he gave it to Hakuryuu’s sister, demanding not to tell from whom it was, he had for the first time worked hard for someone other than himself. But his chance was over, he messed it up! If only he had been nice on that day, he could have actually dated his crush, take him to a karaoke bar like he had always imagined, and spend Christmas together. None of that was gonna happen anymore.

The next day, he walked down the hallway. He was late for work and would study what he missed later. He then saw Hakuryuu, with that girl that he had asked out a few months ago. Morgina or something. He tried to listen to what they said. "I don't know what to do anymore. If I told my family I made this up, they're gonna kill me," Hakuryuu said, rather upset. "So, you told them I was your girlfriend?" the redhead asked.

"No, I just said I was in a relationship. It would just be-, you would say you're with me, and we go to my birthday party. Just a nice evening, I will ask Alibaba if he's alright with it." Hakuryuu explained, and Judar's heart sped up. Was this- he swore himself he would never get his hopes up again. But this was...If Hakuryuu would take Judar with him, if he saw how nice it could be on his side...then maybe…

"Hakuryuu, I'm sorry. I would help you out here, but you see-"

\-----

Judar felt so stupid about it now! How could he ever think this was gonna work out? Fuck, he was gonna say it, Ja’far was right! And now he had confessed to Hakuryuu, if only he wouldn’t have gone there. 

He wished the chocolate had actually been for him, and not so that his family would not notice their act! Still, it felt good to finally get his feelings off his chest!

Should he have said something earlier? 

Well, it didn’t matter anymore. 

Walking along the familiar hallway, Judar barely noticed Hakuryuu, who went searching for him. What could he want, it had all been said now. 

“Judar! Wait! Please, hear me out,” Hakuryuu said, gasping for air. He was completely out of breath. “It’s ok, you don’t need to say anything to-”

Hakuryuu took a box out of his pocket, a big bow on top of it, and held it towards him. “Please go on a date with me!” he exclaimed, closing his eyes tightly. Judar blinked in surprise. He didn’t expect such a thing. “What?” he asked, dumbfounded.

“I’m so sorry, Judar! I was- all this time I thought you hated me! I thought you’d make fun of me, I didn’t notice your intentions! Why didn’t you say you were sorry after our first meeting?!! You’re so stupid, taking two jobs just for that stupid watch, and just for me! How could you like me all this time and be so stupid and never say anything?! And how could I not notice?” Hakuryuu was almost crying now. He had wanted to accept Judar’s offer for the date last week, and he still wanted it, he could finally say that now.

Judar was a bit bewildered at Hakuryuu’s sudden lecture and burst of emotions, and it took a moment for Hakuryuu’s words to set in. If Judar had given up on hope when it came to Hakuryuu, the scene he was witnessing right in front of him was forcing that hopefulness back. “We are the biggest idiots in this college, you know, Ryuu?” Judar laughed out loud, taking Hakuryuu’s hands, that were still holding the box. “I know. Please go out with me, I think we are a good match,” Hakuryuu smiled at him.

“I think I’d love that,” Judar said.

Once again, they were the topic of the campus, there were legends about whenever those two met, it could mean heaven or hell. But this was certainly heaven, Hakuryuu mused, how could he miss out on this chance for so long? Judar and him got along so well, and each date was better than the last. He was, for the first time, looking forward to Valentine’s day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day on the 14th


End file.
